Page 137 of Broken Wheels

“You sure?”

“Absolutely.” Running CrossBow. Just the thought gave Josh hives. “And stop talking stupid. Nothing is going to happen to you. Michael will make sure of that. Me and Dixon will help, too, if it comes to that.”

“I know you would, and I appreciate it more than I can say.” Gary plopped back into a chair and folded his arms. “Okay, let’s change the subject. What do you need me for?”

“I want to talk to Kathy, but I don’t want to do it alone. I need her to point me in a direction to find the information we need. The things she took off the computers are good, but we need ironclad evidence to hang that bastard.”

“Count me in,” Gary growled. “Without Spencer, there wouldn’t have been a Porter. Richie, Benny, and Hank wouldn’t have died. All of this can be laid at his doorstep, and he needs to be taken down.”

Then let’s hope Kathy holds the key.

The one that would jail Spencer’s ass.

Two hours later, they were ready. Josh would have preferred to have this meeting face to face, but he knew staying at the safe house was their best bet. Instead, he had someone from CrossBow set up a monitor and take it to a meeting room, before telling them to take Kathy to the room, dragging her if necessary. Or just if you feel like it, he’d added. That would be good too.

Once she stepped into the room, Josh turned the cameras on, so she could look them in the eyes.

Kathy Robertson might have been staying in a room that provided all manner of amenities, but she was haggard. Her hair was frizzy, her cheeks sunken, and her eyes haunted. Despite her appearance, however, Josh couldn’t work up one bit of sympathy for her, and that bothered him. He’d always believed himself to be an empathetic person, wanting to take someone else’s pain into himself so they wouldn’t have to suffer. Now? He wanted to inflict a thousand hells’ worth of agony on this woman and Spencer. He wasn’t at all religious, but if hell did exist, they’d have to create new levels to send this duo to.

Gary took the lead. “Problems sleeping, Kathy? Is it guilt, or is the bed not comfortable enough for you?”

“I have no problems sleeping,” she assured them, sounding utterly bored. “What do you want?”

“We need information.”

She drummed her fingers on the table. “And I’m still waiting on assurances. You’re going to get nothing more from me until I have something in writing.”

Why did I think she’d help? Josh had too much faith in human nature. He decided to play the card Dixon had given him.

“Help us or we’ll toss you to Spencer.” He leaned back, his arms folded. “How long do you think you’ll last out there?”

Kathy smirked, and despite him wanting to believe the best in people, that right there was the face of evil. “And then what? He kills me, and you have no one to keep you from going to prison for the rest of your natural life, no matter how short that will be.” She mimicked his body language, arms folded, the picture of relaxed. “No, Dr. Malone, you need me, probably more than I need you.”

“What the hell happened to you?” Gary retorted. “Where’s your heart? Do you want more kids to die?”

That seemed to rattle her a bit, but then she shrugged. “People die all the time. Whether I want them to or not, it happens. Maybe this was a blessing. At least they won’t grow up to be shitty adults.”

Josh sucked in a breath. “You know, I had a lot of crappy things happen to me when I was a kid. Still, I try to keep good thoughts about the people I know. There are so many out there that are willing to help and?—”

“Spare me,” she yelled, leaning forward. “Just fucking stop. I went to doctors. I went to teachers. I went to the cops. Not one of them helped me. Why? Because my dear old dad had pull in the town. He told them I was a liar, and they looked the other way while he continued to molest me. I finally found one person who listened, but by then, the damage was done. I hated every fucking person for what they let him do to me, especially when they had a chance to stop it.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Gary croaked. “But you know what you need to do? Grow the fuck up. Get into therapy. Work with the doctors. Hell, if it makes you feel better, go fucking piss on his grave.”

Her face slackened, the anger nearly gone. “You’re not going to say I should forgive him?”

Gary snorted. “No fucking way. What he did was heinous, and forgiveness, whether you choose to give it or not, is up to you. No one has any right to tell you how you should feel. Not ever. And you might not believe me, and that’s fine, but a good therapist is worth their weight in gold, as long as you go into it with an open mind and heart.” He paused. “Trust me, we all have traumas, and we all need help now and then, but that doesn’t make you weak or needy. It makes you human. And that’s what we need now—the human that’s still inside you. The one who was horrified that those kids died.”

Wow. Gary was amazing.

“We’ll get you your assurances,” Josh promised. “I’ll text Grady and get him to bring them here. You have my word.”

Kathy drew in a shallow breath. “I’m going to trust you on this,” she said.

“Please, tell us anything you can about him. We need to get him out of our lives.”

She hesitated, as though mulling over his words, then nodded. “Okay, let’s start with the most obvious thing. Spencer is a psychopath. He always has been, but he hides it well. He knows how to say what people want to hear, but then he uses it against them when they’re no longer of any use to him. He draws you in with his charisma, strings you along with pretty words, and finally, when he has what he wants, he cuts you loose. And I mean that literally.”

Josh rolled his eyes. “How about telling us something we don’t already know?”

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